First COVID-19 brought hoards to supermarkets, then Zoombombing as millions of non-business owners discovered Zoom for the first time. Reacting to this, Zoom announced yesterday that they’re beefing up security and privacy with two new default settings. So what does that mean for those of us that who already using Zoom for our client meetings? Well, here’s what you need to do to make sure this Zoom password update doesn’t interrupt the way you do business.

 

Firstly, what do you need to know about this Zoom password update?

As of April 5 2020, there’s two settings that will be turned on by default to Zoom users on the Basic and single user Pro tiers:

• All meetings (both instant and scheduled) will now require a join password
• Your waiting room will be turned on via default

If you’d like all the nitty gritty details, here’s the full announcement from Zoom:

 

What this means for you

If you’re using a scheduling tool you might need to make a change to ensure your people can access your meetings. (‘Cause that’s kind of important!)

 

If you use the Dubsado Scheduler…

If you’re using the Dubsado scheduler, you’re probably using your Personal Meeting Room link as the appointment location. All you need to do is:

• Log into your Zoom account
• Get your new Personal Meeting Room link (you’ll notice the room ID stays the same, it’ll just be a much longer link!)
• Log into Dubsado, and update the location with the new link.

 

If you use Acuity, Calendly or similar…

If you’re using an integration with Zoom to generate individual meeting room links for each appointment, I have good news for you — you don’t need to do anything! The integration will automatically generate new links with a password.

However, if you’re not using the integration and instead you’re using your Personal Meeting Room link for all your meetings, you’ll need to login and update this to your new link that includes a password.

 

What about meetings that are already on the calendar? Do you need to give them a new link or password?

This is where it gets a little fuzzy, because Zoom hasn’t done a great job of communicating the changes and what they mean. (At the time of writing this blog, I’m still waiting for an update from Zoom to hit my inbox, as are a handful of people I checked in with.)

If your meetings are set up with your Personal Meeting Room link, then yes — you will have to send a new invite out.

As for meetings that use individual links (for example, those created by the Acuity + Zoom integration), I tested out a few of my future meetings and they could still be accessed without a link, so it looks like you’re all good!

Just keep in mind that things are changing daily, so if your clients are having trouble getting in this might be why.

 

My clients are finding this too hard — is there another option?

If you’re clients are finding Zoom too tricky, one Zoom alternative I’ve heard great things about is Whereby. Unlike Zoom, it doesn’t require your clients to download any software, so I can see this being an especially good option if your clients are consumers, not businesses.

 

Any questions about how this update affects you?

I’m here for you — send me a message on Instagram.

 

Need help with your systems?

You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Find out more about my Dubsado services here, or book a free consult right here.